ghulam muhammed wrote:Iraqi Shia militias accused of murder spreeAmnesty International says sectarian groups have abducted and killed scores of Sunnis during war against ISIL. Shia militias have abducted and murdered scores of Sunni civilians in Iraq in crimes committed in retribution against the actions of ISIL, according to a new report by Amnesty International..

The House has voted for a $585 billion defense bill that grants President Barack Obama the authority to expand the U.S. military mission against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.

The sweeping bill authorizes core funding for military operations, including a 1 percent pay raise for the troops. It maintains the prohibition on transferring terror suspects from the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.

The bill authorizes the training and equipping of moderate Syrian rebels.

8 Reasons Why the US and its Allies Are Responsible for Islamic Extremism

Even people who are otherwise sympathetic to the fight against Islamophobia will concede that Islamic extremism is a threat that deserves to be taken seriously. However, what’s lost in these debates—and what Islamophobia serves to erase—is the fact that Islamic extremism is often the direct product of Western imperialism. Many of the groups identified as proof of Islam’s violent nature enjoy their status due to having been cultivated by the West, usually as a weapon against secular leftist opposition. From the beginning of the Cold War until today, violent Islamic fundamentalism has served as a useful tool of American foreign policy.

Here are eight reasons why America and its allies are responsible for Islamic extremism.

1) The US backs Saudi Arabia against pan-Arab socialism (1950s-1970s).

BAGHDAD: Before war convulsed his hometown in Syria, Usaid Barho played soccer, loved Jackie Chan movies and adored the beautiful Lebanese pop singer Nancy Ajram. He dreamed of attending college and becoming a doctor.

His life, to say the least, took a detour.

On a recent evening in Baghdad, Usaid, who is 14, approached the gate of a Shiite mosque, unzipped his jacket to show a vest of explosives, and surrendered himself to the guards.

"They seduced us to join the caliphate," he said several days later in an interview at a secret Iraqi intelligence site where he is being held.

Usaid described how he had been recruited by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State from a mosque in his hometown, Manbij, near Aleppo. He said he joined the group willingly because "I believed in Islam."

"They planted the idea in me that Shiites are infidels and we had to kill them," he said in the interview, which took place in the presence of an Iraqi intelligence official.

If he did not fight, he was told, Shiites would come and rape his mother.

He soon found himself in Iraq, but he quickly had misgivings and wanted to escape. His best chance, he decided, was a risky deception: volunteer to be a suicide bomber so he could surrender to security forces.

The wars in Syria and Iraq have set grim new standards for the exploitation and abuse of children. Thousands of them have been killed or maimed through indiscriminate bombings, in crossfire and, in some cases, executions. Young girls from minority groups, especially Yazidis in Iraq, have been captured as sex slaves by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Young boys have been given rifles and told to staff checkpoints or patrol neighborhoods — or have been recruited, as Usaid was, to become suicide bombers.

In the areas it controls in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has established centers for the military and religious training of children, in an effort to indoctrinate them and build a new generation of warriors.

One of the group's videos, depicting a camp near Mosul, in northern Iraq, calls the children the "cubs of the caliphate." At the camp — named for the brutal leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by an American airstrike in 2006 — children are shown doing physical fitness exercises and reciting the Quran, while an instructor explains that they are being trained to fight "hate-filled Shiites."

The United Nations wrote in a report last month that "ISIS prioritizes children as a vehicle for ensuring long-term loyalty, adherence to their ideology and a cadre of devoted fighters that will see violence as a way of life."

The United Nations has released a catalog of horrors inflicted on children by the Islamic State. In Raqqa, Syria, the militants' de facto capital, the group has gathered children for screenings of execution videos. It has forced children to participate in public stonings. And in many of the group's grisly execution videos, children are seen among the audience. (Usaid said that his parents did not allow him to attend the public executions in his town, typically held after Friday Prayer.)

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In the aftermath of one videotaped beheading in Deir al-Zour, Syria, children are seen playing with the victim's head and mocking the corpse, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the communications of extremist groups.

Referring to past wars and the role of children, Laurent Chapuis, the regional child protection adviser for the Middle East and North Africa for the United Nations Children's Fund, or Unicef, said: "When it comes to recruitment, in the past, kids were predominantly supporters — messengers or spies. It seems now they are pushed to take a more active role."

Mr. Chapuis said that all parties in the wars, including pro-government militias in both countries, were guilty of abuses of children. What sets the Islamic State apart, he said, is how "public and aggressive" they are in their exploitation.

Usaid's account of how he went from a Syrian childhood that he said was not particularly religious to become a jihadist held in an Iraqi cell is one of the few firsthand accounts from an Islamic State child soldier turned defector.

The Iraqi authorities have increasingly showcased Islamic State detainees to the public, as part of a strategy to demonstrate that the government is making progress in the fight, although they have not typically made detainees available for interviews with journalists. The details of Usaid's personal background could not be independently verified, but his surrender at the mosque gate was captured on cellphone video by a bystander.

First, after the Islamic State took control of his town, Usaid was drawn to the local mosque. "We started being taught that Shiites were raping Sunni women, and that Shiites were killing Sunni men," he said.

He now says he was brainwashed. But he admitted that he willingly ran away from home one morning on his way to school and joined a training camp in the desert. For about a month, he was put through military training, and he was taught how to shoot an assault rifle and how to storm a building. He had two meals a day, mostly cheese and eggs.

Soon, though, he said, "I noticed things I saw that were different from Islam."

Back home he saw the group inflict severe punishments on men who were caught smoking cigarettes, yet in the camp, he said, he saw fighters smoking. He said he saw men having sex with other men behind the tents in the desert night. And, he said, he was increasingly put off by "the way they are killing innocent people."

At the end of the training, he was told his trainers wanted him to go fight in Iraq. He was driven, with other new fighters, in a minibus to Mosul.

There, the recruits were given a choice: be a fighter or a suicide bomber.

"I raised my hand to be a suicide bomber," he said. That, he figured, would give him the best chance at defecting.

"If I were a fighter and tried to surrender to security forces they might kill me, with my gun in my hand," he said.

Within a few days, he was taken, along with a German volunteer, on a circuitous journey to Baghdad. He said he was passed from one Islamic State operative to another and stayed at various safe houses along the way — including a photography studio and a house covered by reeds. He spent a week in Falluja, waiting. Finally, he arrived in the early morning at an apartment in Baghdad, where he had tea and kebabs for breakfast.

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He was shuttled to another apartment, where he took a nap. Two hours later, he was shaken awake.

"Wake up, wake up, it is time to put your vest on," he was told.

He was given his target: a Shiite mosque in the neighborhood of Bayaa.

A few hours later, at dusk, he walked up to the mosque gate.

"I opened up my jacket and said, 'I have a suicide vest, but I don't want to blow myself up.' "

The chaotic scene that unfolded, as a plainclothes officer snipped off the vest, was captured on cellphone video by a bystander and distributed over social media. "Keep the people away!" one officer yelled.

What happens now to Usaid is unclear. He said he wanted to be reunited with his family in Syria, but the Iraqi authorities have not tried to reach them. The intelligence officer who has been interrogating him said he needed more time to investigate the case.

During the interview, the officer playfully tapped Usaid on the knee and the top of his head, and urged him to eat baklava. "Eat more sweets, they are good for you," he said.

Usaid said he still planned to become a doctor, and hoped to study in Turkey. He said that he missed his mother, and that the Iraqis had promised to return him to his parents one day.

Before the war, he said: "We were a normal family. It was just a normal life."

Whether he has a chance at a normal life again depends, in part, on how the Iraqis treat him: as a terrorist or as an exploited child.

During the interview, Usaid was dressed in a gray sweatshirt and cargo pants, and he was not handcuffed. A few days later, though, he appeared on state television in handcuffs and a yellow prison jumpsuit. The television host labeled him a terrorist, and he was made to re-enact his surrender.

Yet Saad Maan, the spokesman for both the Interior Ministry and the Baghdad Operations Command, appeared on Tuesday on state television and described Usaid as a victim of the Islamic State.

And the intelligence officer who has been interrogating Usaid, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of his work, said he and other intelligence agents would oppose any efforts to prosecute Usaid.

"Even if he was brought to court, we would be on his side, because he saved lives," he said.

Radical Right Wing Christians Who Supported the Iraq War Want to Convert, Deport and Kill Muslims

Right Wing Watch recently brought to our attention the Christian dominionist, Gary Cass’ call for Holy War against Muslims, in an article titled, “I’m Islamaphobic, Are You?” Cass is a former San Diego GOP official and founder of the organization “Defend Christians: A Ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.”

Cass’ article was originally published on the website of the popular Evangelical Christian magazine, Charisma. The article was pulled down without any apology or note as to why it was published in the first place or why it was subsequently pulled; it is still proudly displayed on Cass’ website.

Many Christian writers and commenters were deeply offended by the bellicose religious hatred and call to violence in the article, deeming it “Anti-Christ.” A minority of Christians however supported the article as can be witnessed in the comment section to Cass’ article.

Cass writes in racialist terms about Muslims, stating for instance that the “vicious seed of Ishmael” must be “crushed.” This characterization of Muslims is based on a particular interpretation of Genesis 16:11-12 that some Christians such as former Florida congressman Allen West have forwarded about Islam, Arabs and Muslims.

Cass says that what ISIS is doing is real Islam and we should thank them for their actions, which is the same vile view propagated by the likes of Deacon Robert Spencer.

Lest anyone forget, there was a whole machine of fervent, zealous Christians who practically worshiped President George W. Bush and were shouting “Halleluja!” and “Glory to Christ!” when he announced that the USA was going to invade Iraq in 2003.

Iraq had zero Alqaeda influence or presence prior to the 2003 invasion. The status of Christians was good, they weren’t a persecuted minority, whereas today the situation is a catastrophe. The pastors, Christian writers and officials who supported and prayed for that war are implicated in the destruction of Iraq and the creation of ISIS.

Gary Cass, who now calls for converting, deporting and killing Muslims is one such hypocrite who is responsible for the creation of ISIS and the destruction of Iraq.

In 2007, Cass was on CNN where he was asked by host Roland Martin, “how would Jesus vote on the war in Iraq?”

According to Cass, Jesus would be all for the Iraq war since it would liberate “his people.”

Any Christian who supported the invasion of Iraq and now complains about ISIS should be shamed in public and exposed for all to see. As for Gary Cass, he may be nothing but hot air but he exposes a virulent extremist and radical element that is flourishing on the Christian right.

I want to trust the americans that they will do the right thing. I want to see Saddam go, but not at the cost of misery of the Iraqi people. Hope Allah (swt) makes the Americans do the right thing in Iraq and in Palestine.

A blast from the past.
Which clearly demonstrates just how deeply incisive and intelligent anajmi so obviously is.

I want to trust the americans that they will do the right thing. I want to see Saddam go, but not at the cost of misery of the Iraqi people. Hope Allah (swt) makes the Americans do the right thing in Iraq and in Palestine.

A blast from the past.
Which clearly demonstrates just how deeply incisive and intelligent anajmi so obviously is.

What is an Israeli colonel from the Golani Brigade doing helping the takfiri terrorists in Iraq? Colonel Yusi Oulen Shahak was captured by Iraqi security forces according to an announcement by a commander of the popular mobilization forces. The Israeli colonel has already provided much useful information.

Tehran, Crescent-online
Thursday October 22, 2015, 22:48 DST

In their ongoing operations against the terrorists in Anbar province, the Iraqi security and popular forces captured an Israeli colonel and a number of takfiri terrorists.

Quoting a commander of Iraq’s popular mobilization forces, Iran’s Fars News Agency (FNA) reported that “the security and popular forces of Iraq captured the Israeli colonel” during operations against the terrorists. A number of terrorists were also captured.

"The Zionist officer is ranked colonel and had participated in the Takfiri ISIL group's terrorist operations," the Iraqi commander added. "The Israeli colonel's name is Yusi Oulen Shahak and is ranked colonel in the Golani Brigade of the Zionist regime's army with the security and military code of Re34356578765az231434."

The Zionist terrorist colonel is currently undergoing interrogatation by the appropriate Iraqi authorities to find out why he is supporting the terrorists in Iraq, how he arrived here and what other Zionist officers might be assisting the takfiri terrorists. The Iraqi security forces said the captured colonel had already made some shocking confessions about his role and presence.

Last year, a number of captured takfiri terrorists had confessed that Israeli Mossad agents as well as other Israeli espionage and intelligence bodies were present in the first terrorist attack on Iraq that led to the capture of Mosul in the summer of 2014.

While committed Muslims have known all along that the takfiri terrorists are receiving training, weapons and finances from the US, Israel and their regional Arabian puppets, the level of Zionist involvement in attacks in Iraq and Syria is only now becoming exposed. It will definitely force the Iraqi government to rethink its policy of relying on the US that has proved to be untrustworthy ally.

The Iraqi government has appealed to Russia for air support like it is providing to government forces in Syria. Russian air strikes have had a profound effect on the ground situation in Syria. Iraq hopes Russia’s help would make it possible for its forces to intensify their operations against the takfiris in Abar and Salahuddin provinces.

Iraqi security forces have already liberated the oil refinery at Baiji and are now moving on to Ramadi. Progress is slow because the area has been heavily booby-trapped. Capture of the Israeli colonel and a number of takfiri terrorists would yield valuable intelligence enabling the Iraqi forces to make greater progress.

Should the request for Russian air strikes materialize, it will become a game changer in Iraq as well.

In the meantime, capture of the Zionist colonel alongside the takfiri terrorists uncovers the diabolical plot of the Zionist criminals in the region. The Zionist regime has so far not commented on the reported capture of its colonel but it will not be long before they start of squeal demanding that he be returned unharmed.

The Iraqis should put him on trial for war crimes as well as being a mercenary in a foreign country. Both are forbidden under International Law.

Members of Iraq's Yazidi minority, which was brutally attacked by the Islamic State group, looted and burned Muslim homes in Sinjar after its recapture from the jihadists, witnesses said Sunday.

IS overran the northern town last year, targeting Yazidis -- whose faith it considers heretical -- in a campaign of massacres, enslavement and rape that the United Nations has described as a possible genocide.

Yazidis fleeing the IS onslaught in August 2014 told AFP that some of their Muslim neighbours enabled the attacks, identifying them for the jihadists.

Sinjar was recaptured from IS on Friday in a major operation led by forces from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region and backed by US-led air strikes.

"Muslim houses were looted and burned," especially those that had "Sunni" written on them after IS seized the town, said one witness, who declined to be named.

An AFP journalist saw houses in Sinjar that had been marked "Sunni", possibly as a means for IS to identify which homes should be protected.

"I saw one of the mosques burned at the hands of Yazidis," the witness said.

A second witness, who also asked not to be identified by name, also reported seeing Yazidis looting Muslim homes and setting them alight.

Kurdish security commanders denied that burning and looting was taking place, and accounts of the unrest could not be independently confirmed.

Rights group Amnesty International documented attacks by Yazidi militiamen against two Sunni Arab villages north of Sinjar in January, in which 21 people were killed and numerous houses burned.

Looting and burning has followed the recapture of other areas in Iraq from IS, sparking resentment among residents and posing a threat to long-term stability.

CORDIAL encounters between representatives of different creeds are common enough in the Western world, whether the organisers are universities, governments or NGOs. (In the latter case, inter-faith activity is often aimed at building bridges by tackling a commonly perceived problem, from the environment to slavery.) But as an Economist colleague has discovered, inter-religious diplomacy is a rather new feature of life in Najaf, the Iraqi city which is the most revered place in Shia Islam.

On one recent day, there was a surprising scene, when set against the hatreds engulfing the wider Middle East. Inside the bejewelled Imam Ali Shrine, the holiest place for Shia Islam (pictured, above), a turbaned cleric was leading a delegation of women representing what remains of Iraq’s colourful sectarian make-up. The party included Melkite and Orthodox Christians, Sunni Muslims and members of smaller religious minorities, such as Yazidis and Mandeans. They also visited an 11-story academy for inter-religious studies, under construction opposite the shrine’s gates. And in an apparently unprecedented gesture, a Grand Ayatollah, one of four clergy of that rank in Najaf, invited them in for a bite to eat.

These days, news stories about religion in Iraq usually focus on the ghastly deeds of Islamic State which controls a swathe of the country's Sunni-dominated territory and has slaughtered or expelled rival religious groups. The inter-faith diplomacy of the country’s Shia ayatollahs has gone almost unnoticed, though it deserves some attention.

A British private military company Aegis Defense Services, contracted by US Department of Defense to provide security to Project and Contracting Office (PCO), a division of the Department of Defense in Iraq. A documentary by Danish director Mads Ellesøe reveals that approximately 2,500 Sierra Leonean personnel who were recruited by Aegis and other private security companies to work in Iraq included former child soldiers.

"When war gets outsourced, then the companies try to find the cheapest soldiers globally," Ellesøe said. "Turns out that that is former child soldiers from Sierra Leone. I think it is important that we in the west are aware of the consequences of the privatization of war."

James Ellery, who was a director of Aegis Defense Services between 2005 and 2015, acknowledged that Aegis recruited personnel from Sierra Leone because they were cheaper than Europeans. The firm, however, never checked if they were former child soldiers, he said. According to Ellery, it would be "quite wrong" to ask whether people had ever been child soldiers, as it would penalize people for things they had often been forced into doing. He pointed out that under UN rules, child soldiers are not liable for war crimes.

Sierra Leone was a convenient source of recruits because of "high unemployment and a decent workforce", he said.

Founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer, the former Scots Guards officer, notorious for supplying weapons in Sierra Leone to support local government, Aegis Defense Services is now led by Sir Nicholas Soames, a Tory MP and a grandson of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The documentary called "The Child Soldier's New Job" will be broadcasted on Denmark television on Monday, April 18.

The Wahhabi apes want to wipe all the monuments of proud local history and its roots (from the Buddhas in Afghanistan to Palmyra, Aleppo and Malula), to leave only the white-scrapers in Dubai, Riyadh and Doha as symbols of identity.